Talking Parental Leave, Kids TV, Worries & Concerns

Corin is a dad of two, a 12 year old girl and a 7 year old boy. During the episode we discuss Corin’s experience taking 6 months parental leave for each of his kids and the different positives from that process as well as some of the challenges. 

Talking ADHD, Stay at Home Parenting, Research & Learning

For episode 20 of the Dad Dialogue podcast, Laurence is joined by Dustin Horvath. Dustin is a father of two young girls and is a dad with ADHD. A former educator, Dustin now offers consulting services to young people who may also have ADHD to help them plan for their future. 

Talking Step-Parenting, Showing Up, Safety

Another first for the Dad Dialogue podcast as we welcome the first step-dad on to the show. Skyler has two daughters, the eldest to which he is a step-father. On the show we talk about the journey towards becoming a step-father, the memorable moments of bonding with his now step-daughter, as well as managing relationships once he and his wife had a new child as well.

Talking Culture, Childcare, Work Balance

For this episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast, host Laurence is joined by Nicholas Braman. Nicholas is based in Singapore and he has a 2 year old daughter. 

Talking Transformation, Helping Men

On episode 17 of the Dad Dialogue podcast the guest is Mitchell Osmond of Dadnation. Mitchell is the dad to a 10 month old boy and as a father he has been able to pull from his experiences of stepping up and caring for his nieces who had their own troubled upbringing. In this episode Mitchell shares about his own upbringing within a dysfunctional home as well as the much needed transformation he went through early on in his marriage. Mitchell has a background as a music pastor and was raised within a church setting so we also discuss the importance of faith within his life. 

Talking Media Boundaries, Moving Countries

In this episode of Dad Dialogue Podcast, we sit down with Leo, an innovative video game developer and dedicated father of two. With a son and a daughter, Leo shares insights on balancing his creative career with family life. Join us as he discusses the unique perspectives his children bring to his work, the challenges of parenting in a digital age, and the importance of making meaningful connections with his children.

Talking Terrible Twos, Allergies, Being Proud

Joining Laurence for the next instalment of the Dad Dialogue podcast is Mike! Mike is a salesman based in Texas and he has been married for five years and he and his wife have a two year old daughter together.

We have another first for the Dad Dialogue podcast, the first dad to have adopted his children. Jason is married to his husband Zane and around 7 years ago they adopted a teenage boy out of the foster system. They subsequently adopted that boys older sister and took custody of her daughter also, making Jason a grandpa! The story of how this family came together is super interesting and something that can provide a different perspective to methods of starting and raising a family. 

Jason has his own podcast which he hosts alongside his friend Jennifer who also adopted from the foster system. It is called A Guide to Poor Parenting and if you want to listen you can find it at all typical podcast platforms, or follow this link. 

If Jason’s story resonated with you in anyway feel free to reach out to the show via the contact page. We’d love to hear more stories of people relating to the adoption and/or fostering world. 

Enjoy the episode! 

For this episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast we welcome Daniel Woodrum on to the show. Daniel is coming up to 10 years married and has three kids. Daniel works as a business coach and he identifies his mission as helping other parents become more disciplined and more productive so they can focus on what's important to them.

Daniel has a background in gym management, and he open and operated at different times 4 gyms, which he has since sold. Daniel now works for a company called Early to Rise which helps entrepreneurs and businesses operate in the best ways possible.

In this episode, Daniel shares about how he is able to maximise his day after his alarm goes off at 3:49am every morning, no that's not a typo! Daniel wakes up at 3:49am. He has a few systems in place that allows him to maximise his productivity, meaning he can still take his kids to school, spend time with his toddler as well as connect with his wife daily.

I hope you are able to take something from this episode and apply it to your life to better improve the quantity and quality of the time you get to spend with your family.

Joining Laurence for this episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast is Pete from Pyramid Park! Pete is a songwriter, recording artist and studying graphic designer, alongside being a dad to two girls aged seven and three. Wonder how he finds time to fit all of that in? Listen to the episode!

Alongside the discussion around Pete’s work in the music world, he shares many other stories including some relating to grief of losing a loved one. Having lost his dad at the age of 11, Pete recently also went through the process of losing his mother-in-law. We talk about how he has been able to take those situations and turn them into something tangible through the medium of music, which in turn has allowed him to connect with people how have experienced similar losses. Listen to Father Father by clicking here, and stay tuned to his social pages for the future release we discuss!

Pete also shares about how important his relationship with his wife is and how it allows him to be the best he can be, enabling him to put the needed attention into work with his music, discussing how differences between partners can be what’s needed to provide the best environment for children.

Check out Pete at @1PyramidPark

Todays episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast features John Kirkland from The Fathering Project.

John has 4 children ranging from 8-18 so we talk about what life has looked like throughout his different stages of being a father, as well as how his career as a teacher has impacted his parenting.

The Fathering Project is an Australian based charity which exists to help dads connect more with their kids and with other dads primarily through various dad groups and school initiatives. John tells the story of how he found out about the project whilst a teacher and now he works for them, further facilitating connections and growth for dads throughout Australia.

John has a lot of insight and stories to share from a parent’s perspective, a teacher’s perspective and the perspective of a charity work focusing on dads.

Episode 10 of the Dad Dialogue podcast is live! Joining Laurence this week is Khaled from America. Khaled has two sons with a third on the way due two months after the recording of this episode. In this episode we talk about the transition of one to two children as well as any preparations for number three.

Khaled and his wife are both children of immigrants to the United States so we talk about how that varied heritage has helped shaped him into the husband and father he is.

Before having children, Khaled had some serious health issues, around the time of losing his job also. He shares this story with a very positive light and has used it to impact the rest of is life for good.

Khaled hosts the 40/40 Vision Podcast, a sports history podcast and I would recommend checking it out if you are interested in hearing more!

After a bit of a summer hiatus, Dad Dialogue is back with the 9th episode in the series. Host Laurence is joined by Justin for this latest instalment. Justin is a teacher from America who has two children, a boy and a girl. In this episode we talk about the main differences between his two children and the relationship they have grown together.

Justin and his family recently went through some health problems involving his wife. He opens up in this episode sharing about that long journey with us, the challenges that brought and how he had to adapt and take on the responsibility of supporting his wife and kids through that situation.

We also talk about Justin’s own upbringing, his relationship with his parents and how that has played a role in creating him in to the father he is today.

Justin hosts The Main Attraction podcast all about TV shows and movies, go and give his show a listen!

A new series within the Dad Dialogue world - Dad Diaries. These will be occasional episodes where the host Laurence sits down to share and discuss something without another guest present.

In this first edition of the format, Laurence shares the story (stories) involving his oldest son Micah and some health issues that resulted in a couple of ambulance trips and hospital stays.

After learning how common respiratory issues are in young children, Laurence wanted his stories to be heard to help inform others.

Sources:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7800004/

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/15203-wheezing

Music by Jeremy Blake @RedMeansRecording

For the 8th episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast, Laurence is joined by Tim. Tim is originally from Australia and he and his family now live in Germany, having lived in other European countries before. As he and his wife both have various heritages and family all over the world, the main topic of our conversation revolves around travelling, and more specifically, travelling with a young child. 

Tim’s son, Jonathan, is now 16 months old and has visited 12 countries already. Tim talks about the heart behind making all of this travel happen, as well as some stories about challenges that have come up and how Tim responded. 

While not every parent has the desire or need to travel frequently, I think all can benefit from hearing Tim’s perspective about choices made early on in Jonathan’s life to maximise different aspects of his family’s lives. 

Buckle in for a slightly longer episode! 

Laurence is joined by Mário for the seventh episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast. Mário is a fairly new father having welcomed his son, Bruno, into the world in April 2024.

Mário talks about some of the struggles he went through in the build up and during the birth of his first child, as well as the steps he took to try and prepare for the birth and preparing to be a father.

Mário’s story will resonate with many parents out there and serves as a usual reminder to what those early stages are like. Maybe you are not a new father or thinking of having a new child, please do listen to Mário’s story through a lens of reflection, thinking of your experiences. Maybe you could support an expecting parent or a new parent in your world?

Mário uses a word in this episode you may not be familiar with - a kraamzorg. This is a Dutch word and it is a type of maternity nurse who would visit the home of new parents soon after bringing home their baby. This was not explicitly discussed in the conversation.

For episode 6 of the Dad Dialogue podcast, host Laurence is joined by Chris. Chris works for a Christian charity and in this conversation we talk about how he was inspired by his parents to following in their footsteps and how he hopes his actions inspire his daughters. We also talk about the importance Chris puts on his role of protecting his daughters and raising girls in this current environment. Enjoy the episode!

The first grandfather on the Dad Dialogue Podcast! Coming on to the show is Darcy McAlister. Darcy is from Canada and has many different roles and responsibilities within different spaces, but he sums it up by saying he works alongside his wife, Leanne, to help build leaders. They do these through numerous different channels and he speaks about some of that during our conversation. Darcy has three children and five grandchildren.

Darcy opens up and shares numerous stories about he has led his family in the best way he could. Listen now to hear how Darcy has shown intentionality as a husband, father and grandfather and continues to strive to be the best he can be.

You can hear more from Darcy at the company he and Leanne run called Zoe Network.

On the fourth instalment of the Dad Dialogue Podcast, host Laurence is joined by Joe. Originally from America, Joe moved to the Netherlands with his wife so she could continue her studies. Listen to the episode to learn what lead them to stay and eventually have kids here too. Joe shares about his experiences of being a foreigner in a unfamiliar system and trying his best to be prepared for the arrival of his kids. He also talks about the moment where he realised he could do more for his family, deciding to make a commitment which lead to the organic formation and growth of a city wide dad group which now contains more than 300 members.

In this third episode of the Dad Dialogue podcast, Laurence is joined by his friend Matt from Hong Kong. Matt is the dad to Nora who at the time of recording was 9 months old. Matt owns and runs a company which obviously brings a lot of challenges, we talk about how he manages his workload now he is a dad in addition to the other roles he has. In the conversation, Matt opens up about the struggles he and his wife went through trying to start a family